Michael Hill -- like Lanza, a disturbed 20-year-old who lived near the school -- had designs on taking lives.

Like Lanza, he found a way to get past security. The Newtown man had blasted open locked doors, while Hill reportedly sneaked into the school behind an individual who had been buzzed in.

Like Lanza, Hill was armed with an assault rifle -- the type of weapon no civilian should be able to own -- and carried enough rounds of ammunition to inflict unimaginable carnage.

Fortunately for the children and staff of McNair Academy, for their parents and loved ones, for the community of Decatur and for this country, that is where the similarities end.

Through fate and the heroism of school clerk Antoinette Tuff, enough time was bought to evacuate the school's 800 young students, and Hill eventually laid down his AK-47 assault rifle and surrendered to police.

Tuff somehow remained calm and level-headed, and she displayed concern and compassion for Hill, earning his trust and getting him to abandon his violent intentions. So much for the National Rifle Association's contention that the only way to stop a bad man with a gun is a good man with a gun.

But the grim reality is that it almost happened, and it very well might have had it not been for the incredible efforts of Tuff and whatever clicked in Hill's mind that motivated him to set aside his weapon.

Inevitably, the near-tragedy conjured up visions of Newtown -- in the minds of the people of Decatur and all across the United States.

Newtown is "the first thing that popped into my head," related the mother of a McNair Academy fourth-grader. "It's the only thing that can pop into your head."

It is unless you are a Republican or conservative Democratic member of Congress or an NRA official.

Because those so-called "leaders" simply turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to mass shooting after mass shooting, to actual and near-tragedies, to all the gun-related deaths that occur in America.

The harsh truth is that the U.S. is a country in which violence is tolerated and, in many quarters, revered.

The NRA promotes that culture with its propaganda and policies. And Congress sits idly by and watches thousands and thousands of Americans gunned down every year.

The unspeakable tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School -- following all the other mass shootings of the past decade and a half -- should have led to landmark legislation to make America a safer country.

So do not expect Congress to jump up and take action after another Newtown nearly happened in Decatur.

Nonetheless, for those of us who do care and do recognize the need for universal background checks, stricter gun control and greater focus on treating those with mental illnesses, Decatur is a call to action.

We all know, following the disgraceful inaction of Congress following the Sandy Hook massacre, that it will not be easy and that strong, appropriate legislation will not happen overnight.

But we cannot give up. We need to keep alive the effort to promote sensible gun laws and improved mental health treatment, with the ultimate goal of making America a safer place.

Art Cummings is editor emeritus of The News-Times. He can be contacted at 203-731-3351 or at acummings@newstimes.com.